America 1881: Legend of the West

Cuba's democratic elections are simple and crude.

Because the literacy rate of the Cuban people is even lower than that of the United States.

So basically you just have to line up to the polling place, tell the counter directly who you want to vote for, and then the counter will register you.

This election method was also used in early America.

Therefore, Hanna felt that this thing seemed to work in Cuba.

But he overestimated the autonomy of the Cuban people.

"Sir, you can only choose one of the three candidates."

At the polling place, the vote counter said helplessly to a black man.

He pointed to the three names on the blackboard. They were:

Estrada Palma, a Cuban general with close ties to the United States;
Jose Miguel Gomez, the famous Cuban rebel general;
Alfredo Zayas, Cuban lawyer and poet.

The black man's eyes rolled, and then he shook his head:
"I choose Lai Hua. He led the rebel army to liberate us. I think he is more suitable."

The vote counters tried hard to persuade, but the black people still insisted on their opinions.

Coincidentally, similar situations also occurred at polling places in other places.

The only difference is that the people they selected were not only Chinese rebel leaders like Lai Hua, but also some black generals and others who had performed outstandingly in the War of Independence.

There was even a manor owner who rebelled with his slaves.

The Cuban people follow the simplest philosophy and choose whoever treats them well and leads them to rebel.

The organization of the Cuban rebel army is relatively loose, and the propaganda is not in place, so the people below have no idea who the leader at the top is.

This makes the election a joke.

All three candidates received so few votes that they could not convince others.

This is an extremely troublesome thing.

Not only could the final president fail to be selected, but other leaders of the rebel army were also ready to take action.

It turns out that I also have a chance.

Prince and general, would you rather have a kind?
The top brass of the rebel army gathered together and it seems that continuing like this is not an option.

No one has the ability to unify Cuba. If this continues, Cuba will be on the verge of civil war.

Finally, one of the candidates, General Parma, made a special trip to Washington to find the Secretary of State.

"Why don't you let me take care of you for a while and give us some time." Palma said, "We need to make further preparations."

"Okay, I need to discuss it with Mr. President before I can give you an answer." The Secretary of State has not yet recovered.

He quickly found McKinley and discussed the matter with him.

This sounds like a good thing.

The Cubans themselves did not understand clearly and took the initiative to invite the Americans to intervene. Wouldn't this be in line with the wishes of the president and some colonial expansionists?

But it's not.

There are many people in Congress who disagree with the direct colonization of Cuba.

Otherwise, there would be no Taylor Resolution.

If we go down the road and turn colonization into a reality, first of all, the country may not agree, and secondly, after a long time, the Cuban people will not agree either.

Palma is pro-American, but at most he can be a comprador, not a blatant traitor.

But now it seems that I have to listen to him.

Let the US military stationed in Cuba support him and smooth it over before handing it over to him.

But who should we choose as the interim governor?
The President and the Secretary of State discussed it for a long time, but did not come up with any valuable results.

McKinley spent three days asking a dozen different cabinet members for their opinions on candidates, and finally came to a conclusion:
Directly let the commander of the local garrison in Cuba serve as the interim governor.

The U.S. military stationed in Cuba is the Second Independent Cavalry Division. The original commander Chen Jianqiu is now Leonard Wood.

This person's background is actually not ordinary.

During the Spanish-American War, he and Roosevelt jointly commanded the First Cavalry Volunteer Brigade in battle, and had a close relationship with Roosevelt.

In other words, his relationship with Chen Jianqiu is also very close.

Otherwise, when he was transferred to the commander of the Second Independent Cavalry Division, it would not have been so smooth.

But I can’t control that much now.

A new person sent there would not be able to convince the masses at all, let alone command the troops stationed in Cuba.

As a result, Leonard Wood was officially appointed as the interim governor of Cuba, and the deputy governor was the deputy commander of this force, Chen Ajiu.

The latter performed extremely well in the battle to capture Fort Elviso, and now has a military rank of colonel, the same level as retired Chen Jianqiu.

This is a choice that McKinley feels is the safest after balancing the rights and interests of all parties.

All are happy.

But when one person heard the news, he felt a little uncomfortable.

After the Spanish-American War, Li Sifu returned to China with the reorganized Chinese soldiers and rejoined the New Mexico militia.

Although he was promoted and became a commander.

But you must know that the militiamen are not off-duty except for training in peacetime, and they rarely have tasks.

Therefore, Li Sifu felt that he looked like a polished commander.

He is not as good as the flying bird he was back then.

Asuka could still patrol the border with his troops back then, but now he is the boss of the Juarez Trade Zone.

After hearing that Chen Ajiu had become the deputy governor of Cuba, Li Sifu felt even more sour than after eating sour plums.

Chen Ajiu met Chen Jianqiu when he was in Chile, and did not follow him until later in Hawaii.

Chen Ajiu is much older than herself, and indeed has more combat experience than herself, but she has been following her boss for more than ten years!
Could it be that he plays suona well?
The more Li Sifu thought about it, the more depressed he became, but he did not dare to complain to Chen Jianqiu, so he could only hide in the room and drink alone.

Because it is close to the border and for some well-known reasons.

The headquarters of New Mexico's militia, the National Guard, is in Roswell.

Li Sifu had no wife or children, so he lived in the main courtyard of the headquarters.

"Sir, the pig tail you asked for is temporarily out of stock. I got some pig head meat for you, but the wine is out."

A soldier carrying a basket stepped into the door of the headquarters room.

In the center of the room stood a wooden table with two or three plates on it.

Except for some peanuts on one plate, the other two were empty.

The wine bottles on the table were also empty.

Li Sifu held his cheek in his hand and looked slightly drunk. While looking out the window, he picked up the peanuts on the plate and put them into his mouth.

Hearing Xiao Bing's voice, he did not speak, but continued to look out the window.

Seeing that Li Sifu didn't say anything, Xiaobing had no choice but to put the pork head meat, scrambled eggs with leeks and a large bowl of rice in the basket on the table, and was just about to leave.

"No more wine?" Li Sifu said lazily.

"It's really gone. Boss Chang said the wine is sold out and we have to go to the wine cellar to get some." The soldier said nervously.

"Nonsense, the last time I saw him, there were at least two jars under the bed in the back room." Li Sifu still didn't turn around. He raised his arm and pointed to the inner room.

"Go, there are a few loose bottles in the cabinet behind my desk, bring them to me."

"Um, sir, you, you really can't drink anymore. It's noon now and there's still afternoon," the soldier said cautiously.

His words stopped abruptly.

"Afternoon, what do you mean by afternoon? No training today! The orders are urgent recently, and the factory is rushing to produce mortar shells. They are all working overtime to produce shells." Li Sifu muttered, "There's not even anyone to drink with me."

"Then can I do it?"

A familiar voice suddenly sounded in Li Sifu's ears.

Li Sifu seemed to be electrified and he crawled up from his seat.

Chen Jianqiu was standing in front of him, looking at him with a smile.

Li Sifu was almost sober now, and he stammered:

"Boss, boss, you, you are not in New York, right? When did you come?"

Chen Jianqiu didn't respond, but continued to ask:

"Where's the wine? Let me see what good wine you have hidden?"

"No, there's no good wine, just, just the bulk wine." Li Sifu felt his heart beating wildly.

"Go get it." Chen Jianqiu pointed to Li Sifu's office.

Li Sifu walked into the house with a sad face, and after a while, he came out with a bottle of wine in his hand.

Chen Jianqiu had already sat down at the table, and the soldier who served the food had already left.

He glanced at Li Sifu with his eyes slanted, and the smile on his face had disappeared:
"Are you really taking it?"

Li Sifu was struck by lightning. He stood there, not knowing whether to put the wine back or take it.

"You've had too much to drink. Do you plan to find a place to lie down this afternoon, or go to the desert to sober up?"

Chen Jianqiu stood up and walked around Li Sifu twice.

"Boss, I was wrong. I won't drink at noon anymore." Li Sifu said with a sad face.

"You are already thirty years old, and now you are a senior military officer after all. Why do you still act according to your temper?" Chen Jianqiu looked disappointed.

He sat back down at the table.

Chen Jianqiu took a bowl of rice from the basin and found that there were no chopsticks.

Li Sifu immediately turned around and walked back to the office, and when he came out he had a pair of chopsticks in his hand.

He handed the pair of chopsticks to Chen Jianqiu, then stood aside obediently.

Chen Jianqiu rinsed his chopsticks in the teacup beside him and then started eating.

"Sit down, why are you standing there?" Chen Jianqiu glanced at Li Sifu who was still standing there, pointed at the food with his chopsticks, "Eat, eat."

Li Sifu sat down carefully.

"Boom"

The bowl of rice fell in front of Li Sifu.

"Well, there are no more bowls. Just eat from the basin." Chen Jianqiu said.

Li Sifu took the basin.

"Boss, you haven't eaten yet?" he asked shamelessly.

"No?" Chen Jianqiu picked up a piece of leek with chopsticks and put it into his mouth along with the rice.

Li Sifu didn't know what to say for a moment, so he just picked up the rice bowl and started eating.

The two men cleared all the plates on the table without saying a word.

"Hiccup~"

Chen Jianqiu put the bowl on the table and burped.

He took out a clean handkerchief, wiped his mouth, then folded the handkerchief twice and put it back in his clothes.

"Don't you think it's unfair that Ajiu has become a high-ranking official while you are still a lone commander?" Chen Jianqiu asked, straightening his clothes.

There was another "bang".

The rice bowl was back on the table.

Li Sifu put down his rice bowl and chopsticks, stood up, put his legs together, put his hands on the seams of his trousers, and stood straight.

"Report to the boss, no! Brother Nine is older than me! He has more experience than me! He handles things more maturely than me."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Chen Jianqiu.

"Let's finish eating the food in our mouth first! The rice grains are all coming out!"

Li Sifu immediately shut his mouth.

"Ajiu is more suitable for his current position as deputy governor than you, but don't think that your current position as militia captain is unimportant."

Chen Jianqiu said earnestly.

"You are very smart, you learn things quickly, and you have been with me for a long time. It is not an exaggeration to say that you are my disciple."

"But your current problem is still too urgent and needs to be settled."

"When you win, don't be overjoyed; when you lose, don't be discouraged. If you have a thunder in your chest but a calm face, you can be worshiped as a general!"

He stood up and stared into Li Sifu's eyes.

"Calm down, study, and do everything well. I will have a more important mission for you."

After saying that, he turned and left the command center.

Li Sifu stood there, staring blankly at Chen Jianqiu's departing back.

He took a deep breath.

A thirty-year-old man suddenly had tears in his eyes.

Li Sifu didn't know why it ran out at this time.

After the Spanish-American War, the United States seemed to have suddenly calmed down from its passion.

Roosevelt gained enormous popularity from the war.

He returned to New York State and was successfully elected as the governor of New York State.

Chen Jianqiu is making money.

The Boer War in southern Africa was in full swing.

Both the Boers and the British shed blood on this African land.

But these have nothing to do with Chen Jianqiu.

He tried various ways to sell his stockpile to both sides of the war.

Both sides have become blood-thirsty.

The British Empire did it for face, while the Boers did it for survival.

And some bad rumors about Chinese people suddenly spread in some big cities.